One of the `silent majority' in an electronic forum; one who posts
occasionally or not at all but is known to read the group's postings
regularly. This term is not pejorative and indeed is casually used
reflexively: "Oh, I'm just lurking." Often used in the lurkers, the
hypothetical audience for the group's {flamage}-emitting regulars.
When a lurker speaks up for the first time, this is called delurking.
The creator of the popular science-fiction TV series Babylon 5 has
ties to SF fandom and the hacker culture. In that series, the use of
the term `lurker' for a homeless or displaced person is a conscious
reference to the jargon term.
[glossary]
[Reference(s) to this entry by made by: {net.-}{read-only user}{tourist}]